Can mRNA Conquer TB and Malaria? Germany Is Trying

Ethris and DZIF partner to develop next-gen mRNA vaccines for TB, malaria, hepatitis and more using advanced LNP platforms

10 Mar 2026

For many people mRNA vaccines are synonymous with covid-19. In Germany, researchers hope the technology will soon be known for much more. A new partnership between Ethris, a Munich biotechnology firm, and the German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF) aims to extend the approach to some of the world’s most persistent infectious diseases.

Announced on February 9th, the collaboration targets pathogens including tuberculosis, malaria, hepatitis, HIV and even antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. The arrangement brings together Ethris’s RNA design and delivery technology with DZIF’s research network, which links more than 700 scientists across 35 institutions in Germany.

At the centre of the effort are Ethris’s SNIM RNA and SNaP lipid nanoparticle platforms. These systems attempt to solve several weaknesses associated with early mRNA vaccines. The company says they reduce unwanted immune activation, improve thermal stability and allow different delivery routes. One possibility is respiratory administration, which could send vaccines directly to the lungs, an appealing feature for diseases such as tuberculosis.

Manufacturing capacity has also been lined up early. Clinical-grade material will be produced through established good manufacturing practice partners, including Patheon and Evonik. That arrangement should allow candidate vaccines to move into trials without the delays that often slow academic discoveries.

The timing is notable. Europe’s regulators, led by the European Medicines Agency, are gradually refining guidance for RNA-based medicines. As that framework settles, collaborations that combine academic disease expertise with industrial delivery platforms are becoming more attractive.

For Germany the project also carries strategic weight. The country already hosts several firms working on RNA technologies. If successful, the Ethris and DZIF partnership could strengthen its position in a field once defined mainly by pandemic urgency.

The ambition is straightforward but large: to shift mRNA vaccines from emergency response to routine defence against longstanding diseases. Whether the technology can match that promise will depend less on clever molecules than on the slow work of trials, regulation and scale.